Inflation of employers' associations undermines representation of Romanian business sector

Nowhere in Europe there are so many employers' unions, federations, confederations or councils to claim they represent the business sector in talks with the authorities. At the same time, no Romanian entrepreneur, multinational head or owner of a major company is at the helm of any of the 12 Romanian employers' associations that are representative in this country.
Whereas employers' associations' leaders no longer believe in the credibility of the organisation they represent in the Economic and Social Council, businesspeople often complain they have no organisation to have a significant say in the decisions that concern the business sector.
"I don't believe in the manner in which employers' associations are structured in Romania. What we want is to have a sole employers' association, to disband all the existing ones, and then have an employers' association for each industry. Who will sign the collective employment contract if there are several employers' associations in the same sector?" says Ştefan Varfalvi, first vice-president of the UGIR employers' confederation.
France's Medef and Confindustria in Italy are but two examples of powerful employers' associations in Europe, representative for the companies in these countries and their voice is heard in talks with the authorities when decisions affecting the business sector are made.